Justice in Kosovo discusses the privatisation of NBI Suhareka winery
Justice in Kosovo broadcast a programme about the privatisation process of the NBI Suhareka wine enterprise, including high-profile suspicions about secret deals between businessmen.
Read more
Every Thursday starting from 20:30, Radio Television Kosovo, RTK, broadcasts the TV debate show "Life in Kosovo", a joint production of BIRN and RTK.
Read more
Life in Kosovo - Interview with Stephen Heintz from Rockefeller Brothers Fund
07 January 2010 Life in Kosovo broadcast an interview with the head of the Rockefeller Brothers Fund, Stephen Heintz.
Why did their company spend its first 120 years polluting the environment? Why does the company invest so much in protecting the environment today? Why is the Health Insurance Package causing such a row in the US?
Show moderator Jeta Xharra first asked Mr Heintz how the Rockefeller Brotherhood Fund was created.
John D. Rockefeller created the fund, Mr Heintz said, as he was a very wealthy person and had spent a lot of his earnings on charity.
John D. Rockefeller started the business at the age of 16, and expanded the company into the oil industry, refinery, and railways, claimed Mr Heintz.
However, added Mr Heintz, John D. Rockefeller did not give money to individuals who suffered from disease, for example, but funded the scientists to discover the cure.
Responding to a question on whether John D. Rockefeller had paid income taxes, Mr Heintz said that income tax was applied from 1911, but John D. Rockefeller had already earned a lot of money and had become one of the richest men in the United States by then.
When asked about RBF’s charitable activities in Kosovo, Mr Heintz said: “I have been active in Western Europe for 20 years, since the fall of the Berlin wall, and the democratic movements happening in Central Europe.”
The fund was there to support the democratic movements, the transition process, and civil society, added Mr Heintz.
After joining the Foundation in 2001, Mr Heintz was interested in the development of the Western Balkan.
In fact, Mr Heintz’s first request to the Board of the Foundation was to include Serbia, Montenegro and Kosovo. “Since 2001-2003 we have expanded our work even more,” added Mr Heitz.
Asked if he knew for how long the Fund would continue to invest in the Balkans, Mr Heintz said that they select very carefully the places in which they work, adding that the Fund planned to stay in the Balkans for the next ten or more years.
The Fund wants to see the Balkans integrated into the EU and the development of the domestic philanthropy before withdrawing from the region.
Regarding Kosovo’s integration into the EU, Mr Heintz said that while he had been working in Central Europe, the integration of these countries seemed to be very far off, but it happened sooner than everyone thought. He added that it is a complex process which with time, effort and hard work can be achieved.
Mr Heintz said strengthening institutions, the rule of law, and transparent governance are substantial issues for Kosovo in its path towards the EU.
He added that it is good for Kosovo to have international support, but not to rely on it forever, since it is a sovereign and democratic country, so it must manage its operations on its own, and has capacities to manage the rule of law through the already established institutions.
Mr Heintz stated that the latest elections showed that Kosovo has the capacity to organise democratic elections, although there had been a few irregularities, but freedom of speech, through the freedom of the media, is a field in which Kosovo needs to focus more and try to create a vibrant culture of democracy.
Mentioning the last debate organised by the Fund, on the Islam and the Democracy, Mr Heinzt was asked to elaborate on the relationship in the world between these two.
Mr Heintz said that there are Muslim populations who live all around the world and in US as well. They are part of public life, members of Congress, state government and are present throughout the bureaucracy. In addition, Mr Heintz added that there are Muslim majority countries that have strong forms of democracy, for example Indonesia and Jordan, which are making progress in developing democratic institutions and culture.
Asked whether the US was the best example of the treatment of Muslims, Mr Heintz argued that “according to many scholar studies on Muslims in US vs. Muslims in other non-Muslim majority societies, US Muslims have the highest degree of integration and feel more part of the overall society, and less excluded from the institutions and the society”.
Mr Heintz added that he sees the newly elected President with a great deal of optimism and admits that the former administration has made many fundamental mistakes toward the Muslim world.
On Climate Change, the Foundation has funded many scientific research projects on the issue. The fund is also trying to build a public awareness of a greener living culture.
The Copenhagen Climate Change Conference, argued Mr Heintz, will achieve the goal of reducing the emission of CO2 gases and prevent a climate change catastrophe, with developed countries and less developed ones joining forces.
Mr Heinzt ended the show by saying that the companies and organisations which receive money from the Fund are selected very carefully in order to avoid conflicts of interest in the future, regarding their position towards world politics.
Life in Kosovo is a co-production between Kosovo Public Television, RTK and the Balkan Investigative Reporting Network, BIRN. It is broadcast every Thursday, starting at 20:20.
THE PROCESS OF JUDICIAL APPOINTMENTS AND REAPPOINTMENTS OF JUDGES AND PROSECUTORS
The report on the process of judicial appointments and reappointments analysis the flow of this process, specifically focusing on the bright and dark sides that have marred the process to its final stages.
COURT MONITORING ANNUAL REPORT APRIL 2010 - FEBRUARY 2011
Court monitoring report is published as a result of a continuous monitoring of all municipal and districts courts of Kosovo. The findings of this report are based on the monitoring of 2,147 court hearings, by BIRN monitors.
THE PROCESS OF JUDICIAL APPOINTMENTS
This report presents the results of part of BIRN's court monitoring project, specifically on the process for the appointment and reappointment of judges and prosecutors.
Follow the Paper Trail
\"Follow the Paper Trail\", a guide to document-based journalism in Kosovo, explains relevant laws, access to public documents, how to publish safely, where to find databases on investigative journalism, and how to locate documents online through various search engines.
Courts Monitoring Report 2010
A detailed analytical report about the work and administration of the courts in Prishtina, Peja, Prizren, Gjilan, Mitrovica, Ferizaj, Gjakova, Decan, Vushtrri, Poduleva, Lipjan, Klina and Istog. The report contains important information, collected by the network of monitors, placed in the major municipalities of Kosovo and aims to identify the key problems and issues that the justice system in Kosovo is facing.
REPORT: Monitoring the Courts 2009
Monitoring the work and administration of courts in Prishtina, Peja, Mitrovica, Gjilan, Ferizaj, Vushtrri and Skenderaj.
DIRECTLY ELECTED MAYOR SYSTEM IN LOCAL GOVERNANCE
The report on Directly Elected mayor System in Local Governance aims to provide a critical overview of the rationale and feasibility of the implementation of a municipal governance system that places the mayor as the central executive figure, during the third year of its application. The efficiency of this system was assessed based on the following pillars: the relationship between local government bodies, accountability of the municipal executive, respect for the law, the link between the mayor and the citizens, provision of public services (water supply and waste management, capital investments (in school and road projects)), level of transparency, public consultation and citizen participation in decision-making.
BIRN Report on Monitoring the Education System
Report on monitoring the elementary and high schools in Prishtina: Mitrovica, Ferizaj, Peja and Gjilan
Analytical report of the situation and the problems in the University of Prishtina
Report on Kosovo`s Healthcare System
Monitoring report on all primary, secondary and tertiary (University Clinical Center of Kosovo, UCCK) healthcare institutions in Pristina, Prizren, Peja, Mitrovica, Gjilan, Ferizaj, Gjakova, Klina, Decan, Istog and Vushtrri.
Situation and the Problems at the University of Prishtina
Analytical report of research into the standards and problems at the University of Prishtina. Ten years since the end of the war in Kosovo, the University of Prishtina (UP) continues to suffer from a variety of problems, resulting in persistently low quality courses being offered. For this reason, BIRN conducted research into the problems faced by UP students. The data gathered suggests that, out of the many issues reported, the most significant are: the non-implementation of contemporary teaching and assessment methods, the lack of practical work for students, the lack of appropriate academic literature, arbitrary assessments by
professors and generally poor relationships between students and their professors.
Download Here
Buy DVD
Click here to buy a copy of 'Does Anyone Have a Plan?,' BIRN's feature-length documentary on Kosovo's final status.
"Life in Kosovo" debates also available on DVDs now!
Read more
Post Your Comments
Write your comment on BIRN debates and other activities.With the new web-site BIRN looks forward to receive direct opinions from our readers via comment section.
Read more
Balkan Investigative Reporting Network
The opinions expressed in Balkan Insight are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of the Balkan Investigative Reporting Network.
Comments:
No comments have been posted.